16.5 C
Byron Shire
June 11, 2026

Latest News

School is the beating heart of Bruns

From floods to festivals, Brunswick Heads Public School has long the been the anchor of village life.

Other News

Two arrested after man dies

A man and woman have been arrested after a man died in Tweed Heads on Saturday morning.

North Coast Safe Haven closure

Safe Haven North Coast has provided effective mental health supports for people across the region since it was established in 2022, but is now running out of funding.

Eclectic Selection for the week beginning 10 June 2026

Eclectic Selection: What’s on this week is a taste of some of the events that can be found in the Byron Shire and beyond this coming week.

Here’s to the Flotilla

The Global Sumud Flotilla is about brave people doing exceptional things with skill, compassion, colour, spirit and gruff chutzpah. Would...

Byron Council’s Sandhills Wetlands project takes first place at LG awards

The Sandhills Wetland restoration project in Byron Bay has won another major award, with Byron Shire Council taking first place at the Local Government Professionals 2026 NSW Excellence Awards.

Myall Creek walk starts conversations and opens eyes to difficult history

The Walk 4 Stolen Children, Land & Lives has successfully concluded in Myall Creek, having completed 474km on foot from Ballina and visited a number of massacre sites along the way.

February 12, 2025

Byron Shire Echo issue 39.36 – February 12, 2025

Download PDF (15MB)
Jump to:
Local News | North Coast News | Comment | Letters | Articles | Sport | The Scoop | Good Taste | The Good Life | Soapbox | Stars | Crossword | Seven Entertainment | Cinema | Gig Guide | Classifieds | Community at Work | Service Directory | Echo Property | Property Business Directory | Backlash

In this Issue:

Byron Writers Festival moves home

After last year’s Byron Writers Festival was washed out, it was time to put the thinking caps on and work out a new plan – in this climate-impacted world how do you put a festival on that minimises the risk of it happening again?

On the wing: Latham’s snipe

Have you ever heard of Latham’s snipe? Better still, have you ever seen one? These secretive, well camouflaged, medium-sized wading birds grace us with their presence here in Byron Shire between August and February.

Govt-run dispute resolution services to close

Concerns are being raised around the NSW Labor government plans to close all Community Justice Centres in June.

Herbicide spraying in Ocean Shores Nature Reserve

A distressed Ocean Shores resident contacted The Echo last week, saying they walked their dogs in an area that had been sprayed by herbicide.

Clarity sought over Main Arm property offers

With a recent Echo advertisement offering ‘ten legal house sites soon to be available’ at a property in Main Arm, The Echo sought clarity around the estate.

Mullum Food Box opens for 2025

Mullumbimby Uniting Church Food Box have commenced their 13th year of operations, distributing nutritious food to those in need every Thursday, from 9.30am till 11.30am.

Hate crimes beefed up – what do federal candidates think?

Despite the Law Council of Australia raising serious concerns over risks to freedom of political speech, federal parliament has passed a new hate crime law that will see jail time for publicly displaying prohibited Nazi symbols or giving a Nazi salute.

Giving Albo the elbow: Bradbury to contest PM’s safe seat

Local filmmaker, David Bradbury, says he will run against PM Anthony Albanese in his safe Sydney seat of Grayndler as an independent at the upcoming federal election.

Incite:

To stir up or provoke to action. New laws to criminalise incitement and hate speech have just been made. The fact that government supports (the manufacturers) making weapons and systems that kill people, and sells or gives weapons to Ukraine...

Trump Tower

I can see it 50 years from now, Trump Tower, the tallest building on Earth, a giant gold-plated phallus rising hundreds of meters from what was Southern Gaza, renamed Trumpopolis. The Benjamin Netanyahu Memorial Gardens sprawl hundreds of hectares into...

Farmers’ markets

I’m Louis and I’m ten years old. I love the Byron Farmers Market and have been going all my life. As mentioned in a previous Echo, (January 29) a major storm recently blustered its way through the Shire, and the...

Bill and Carol and Mandy

Given the content of Mandy’s story about her parents’ Vietnamese ‘intruder,’ I’d love to have had the opportunity to retitle her story, ‘Empathy, Kindness, and Love.’ Truly inspiring. Raphael Lee Cass, Byron Bay

Pro Adaptive Surf Championships return to Byron, March 23–30

Elite adaptive surfers from across Australia, and around the world, are set to return to Byron Bay from March 23 to 30, and showcase their skill and determination.

Concussion campaign aims to keep kids safe

Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) has launched a nationwide campaign to help coaches, teachers and sport medicine professionals safely manage the 100,000 sport-related concussions in Australia each year.

Tennis league to strengthen junior pathways

The launch of the North-East Tennis League is an exciting new inter-club competition designed to strengthen local tennis communities, foster affordable play, and create vital development pathways for junior players.

Under 10s cricket gets underway

An eight-a-side competition is starting for under 10s in mid-February, with five teams from NSW far north towns such as Ballina, Lennox Head, Bangalow and Alstonville.

DFV service under pressure as referrals rise 

Local domestic family violence and homelessness have clear links, according to the manager of the Women’s Resource Service, Ambyr Johnston.

Editorial – Whack-a-mole the crims

As a member of the small niche independent media landscape, The Echo is acutely aware that this job is not just being a journal of public record, but a reporter on how governments behave. And treat us.

Drive a red truck and be a hero!

Members of the public are being sought to help their communities at the Bangalow and Byron Bay Fire Stations, with paid positions on offer for on-call firefighters.

Where’ve you been Justine?

Three years ago my town of Mullumbimby, and many other towns in the Northern Rivers, flooded. That’s not news to most, but it was news that three years later, just last week, Justine Elliot had come to town to...

Local triathletes fire up for the Tweed Enduro 

A contingent of the Byron Tri Club joined 600 other competitors in Pottsville last weekend for the 2025 Tweed Enduro. 

Focus off centre around Sam Kerr’s arrest

It feels to me like Sam Kerr is really being pursued and prosecuted for being famous, female, and not white.

No eviction for Mullum pod residents

Concerns that residents of the Mullumbimby pod houses are about to be evicted have been quashed by NSW Reconstruction Authority

Wallum protector fined as stop-work continues

Wallum protector, Maria Lloyd, faced Byron Bay Local Court last Tuesday following an incident in June last year at the contested 126-housing unit urban development in Bayside, Brunswick Heads.

Appalling telco

It’s appalling how incompetent Telstra is! I had far better mobile phone reception at my home in Montecollum when I bought it 30 years ago, long before 3G, 4G and 5G. I’ve had far better mobile phone and internet connection...

Israel’s assault on Global Sumud Flotilla – a first-hand account

It hit me like a lightning strike. It was the latex gloves that did it. Those pale blue five fingered clinical sheaths made me want to vomit. Last Tuesday, having just been repatriated from my time on the Global Sumud Flotilla, I was at Tweed Valley Hospital getting a forensic medical examination for my sexual assault at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

Voters are not ‘always right’

The mantra ‘voters always get it right’ is repeated after every election by winners and losers. The decision of voters must be respected, blah, blah.

Lismore councillor pay rise divides chamber at June meeting

The sharpest debate from Lismore City Council's 9 June ordinary meeting saw a majority vote to increase councillor and mayoral fees, following a 3.7 per cent rise determined by the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal (LGRT) – a figure tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12 months to February 2026.

Here’s to the Flotilla

The Global Sumud Flotilla is about brave people doing exceptional things with skill, compassion, colour, spirit and gruff chutzpah. Would I leave my comfy chair...